When you ask the people of Ontario if they’re better off now than they were six years ago, the answer is a resounding no. Patients, nurses, doctors, teachers, students—including the autism community—farmers and renters, all dealing with restrictions, slowdowns and cuts to essential services.

But I will tell you who isn’t dealing with cuts. This government has the largest, most expensive cabinet ever. This Premier’s office is also the largest, most expensive Premier’s office in history, doubling in size and salary. If this isn’t the gravy train, I don’t know what is.

Mr. Speaker, can the Premier please explain what exactly his 28 extra staff members, each earning over $100,000 annually, are doing for the people of Ontario?

Interjections.

What exactly is the Premier paying this enormous staff to do?

There are more than 100,000 children living in poverty in Ontario. There are more than 12,000 Ontario children on a surgery wait-list in Ontario. There are more than 60,000 children on the Ontario Autism Program wait-list for therapy and services in Ontario. With just a fraction of $8.3 billion, these children could be helped. But it’s not just the greenbelt; now this government has decided to spend $650 million on a parking garage for a privately owned exclusive spa.

My question to the Premier: Can you possibly explain how this government’s priorities are so skewed toward privileged insiders and friends instead of Ontario’s children?

Speaker, the children of Ontario deserve a government acting in their best interest. The greenbelt scandal, the criminal investigation, the Ontario Place scandal, the MZO scandal—it all serves the best interests of select insiders.

How many RCMP criminal investigations, how many scandals, how many betrayals before this government starts governing for the people of Ontario instead of governing for their rich and privileged friends?